Decolonization in Chad
| Territory of Chad | ||||||||||||||||||
| Territoire du Tchad | ||||||||||||||||||
| Constituent of French Equatorial Africa | ||||||||||||||||||
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Anthem La Marseillaise • La Tchadienne (instrumental only) |
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| Capital | Fort-Lamy | |||||||||||||||||
| Languages |
French (official) Chadian Arabic, Sara, Kanembu, Sango |
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| Religion | Islam, Christianity, traditional African religion | |||||||||||||||||
| Government |
Colony (1900–1946) Overseas territory (1946–1958) Autonomous republic (1958–1960) |
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| Governor | ||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1900 | Émile Gentil | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1956–1959 | René Troadec | ||||||||||||||||
| High Commissioner | ||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1959–1960 | Daniel Doustin | ||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | ||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1957–1959 | Gabriel Lisette | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1959–1960 | François Tombalbaye | ||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | 20th century | |||||||||||||||||
| • | Established | September 5, 1900 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Merged with Ubangi-Shari | February 11, 1906 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Integrated into French Equatorial Africa | January 15, 1910 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Separate colony | March 17, 1920 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Status changed to overseas territory | October 27, 1946 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Autonomy | November 28, 1958 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Independence | August 11, 1960 | ||||||||||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1943 | 1,194,508 km² (461,202 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1950 | 1,283,993 km² (495,752 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1936 est. | 1,432,600 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1943 est. | 1,432,555 | ||||||||||||||||
| Density | 1.2 /km² (3.1 /sq mi) | |||||||||||||||||
| • | 1950 est. | 2,241,000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Density | 1.7 /km² (4.5 /sq mi) | |||||||||||||||||
| Currency |
French Equatorial African franc (until 1945) CFA franc (1945–1960) |
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Chad was a part of the French colonial empire from 1900 to 1960. Colonial rule under the French began in 1900 when the Military Territory of Chad was established. From 1905, Chad was linked to the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, known from 1910 under the name of French Equatorial Africa. Chad passed in 1920 to French civilian administration, but suffered from chronic neglect.
Chad distinguished itself in 1940 for being, under the governorship of Félix Éboué, the first French colony to rally by the side of Free France. After World War II, the French permitted a limited amount of representation of the African population, ushering the way to the clash in the political arena between the progressive and southern-based Chadian Progressive Party (PPT) and the Islamic conservative Chadian Democratic Union (UDT). It was eventually the PPT which emerged victorious and brought the country to independence in 1960 under the leadership of François Tombalbaye.
European interest in Africa generally grew during the 19th century. By 1887, France, motivated by the search for wealth, had driven inland from its settlements on central Africa's west coast to claim the territory of Oubangui-Chari (present-day Central African Republic). It claimed this area as a zone of French influence, and within two years it occupied part of what is now southern Chad. In the early 1890s, French military expeditions sent to Chad encountered the forces of Rabih az-Zubayr, who had been conducting slave raids (razzias) in southern Chad throughout the 1890s and had sacked the settlements of Bornu, Baguirmi, and Ouaddai. After years of indecisive engagements, French forces finally defeated Rabih az-Zubayr at the Battle of Kousséri in 1900.
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